Iraqi prison breaks signal escalating Al Qaeda violence

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday set up dragnets at airports and along highways leading out of the country in a hunt for hundreds of Al...

Joint Chiefs head outlines risks of Syria options

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's top officer said in a letter released Monday that U.S. intervention in the 2-year-old civil war in Syria...

EU declares Hezbollah military wing a terrorist group

BEIRUT — The European Union on Monday declared the military wing of Hezbollah a terrorist organization, dealing a political blow to...

Israel reportedly OKs prisoner release, but not settlement freeze

JERUSALEM – As part of a U.S.-backed proposal to restart peace talks, Israel has agreed to release an unspecified number of...

Egypt's politics creep into beloved Ramadan soap operas

CAIRO — Rushing out of the Cairo subway, homemaker Samia Abdel Karem was eager to get home to her family and retreat from the tensions...

Kerry says Israeli, Palestinian negotiators agree to U.S. visit

JERUSALEM — In a surprise announcement, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Friday night that he would host Israeli and...

Kerry travels to Ramallah in bid to restart talks

JERUSALEM -- U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry traveled to Ramallah on Friday in a bid to convince Palestinian Authority President...

Palestinians balk at endorsing plan to restart talks with Israel

JERUSALEM — Dimming hope for an imminent breakthrough in Mideast peace talks, Palestinian leaders on Thursday declined to endorse a U....

McCain may block Gen. Dempsey's Joint Chiefs reappointment

WASHINGTON — The debate over U.S. intervention in Syria threatened to derail the confirmation of America's top military officer...

Arab TV star Abbas al Nouri of Syria grieves for his nation

Iran in a hopeful mood over President-elect Rouhani

TEHRAN — On the bustling lanes outside this capital's expansive bazaar, a sense of hope is palpable as Iran's president-elect,...

Arab League backs Israeli-Palestinian talks; EU sanction may be snag

AMMAN, Jordan — The Obama administration's efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks won the blessing of an influential...

Pro-Assad Syrian political analyst killed in Lebanon

BEIRUT — A prominent Syrian political analyst known for his staunch support of the government of President Bashar Assad was shot and...

Don't reject refugees from Syrian civil war, U.N. tells world

BEIRUT -- The United Nations has called on nations not to turn back Syrian civil war refugees, whose swelling ranks now constitute the...

John Kerry pushes for restart of Israeli-Palestinian talks

AMMAN, Jordan -- Secretary of State John F. Kerry, on his sixth trip to the Middle East in four months, met Wednesday with Palestinian...

Egypt military retains 'protector of the state' image despite faults

CAIRO — The young recruits with rifles and ragged duffels will never see the swimming pools of the officers clubs that line the...

Egypt appoints new Cabinet; Morsi backers clash with police

CAIRO — Fear of a fresh wave of violence gripped Egypt on Tuesday as a new Cabinet was sworn in to try to stem years of economic...

Israel begins deporting Eritrean refugees to troubled African homeland

JERUSALEM — In an acceleration of its controversial crackdown on African asylum seekers, Israel has begun sending Eritrean refugees...

In Egypt, U.S. envoy calls for political transition, end to unrest

CAIRO — With the Obama administration facing recriminations across Egypt for its response to the July 3 military coup, a top U.S....

Iran labor protest: Sign of daunting challenges for next president

TEHRAN -- More than 200 steelworkers staged a demonstration Tuesday in front of the Iranian parliament, protesting layoffs and unpaid...

Israel won't confirm role in Syria attack

JERUSALEM — Israel maintained official silence Sunday in response to accusations that it had attacked the Syrian port city of Latakia,...

Syrian business owners who fled to Egypt give up on going back

REHAB, Egypt — As fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo intensified last fall, Khalid Sabbagh decided it was time to move his business...

Israel approves more Egyptian troops in Sinai

JERUSALEM -- Egypt is sending more troops into Sinai to quell militant activity in the demilitarized area, according to Israeli officials...

Syria rebel group demands Islamists turn over suspected killer

BEIRUT — The principal U.S.-backed Syrian rebel group is demanding that an Islamist insurgent faction turn over the suspected killer...

U.S. calls for Morsi's release by Egypt military

CAIRO — The Obama administration called Friday for Egypt's ousted Islamist president to be released from military detention, as his...

U.S. resists pressure to offer a new nuclear deal to Iran

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is rejecting calls for it to offer a bold diplomatic proposal to Iran in hopes of breaking the...

Saudi princess is free on $5-million bail in human trafficking case

The Saudi princess and her family had crossed the globe in May with an entourage of servants and settled into one of the labyrinthine...

Egypt turmoil: At least 7 killed in overnight clashes

CAIRO -- Fears of a new wave of deadly violence have shaken Cairo as Islamist supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi have clashed...

Egypt army defends role in deadly clashes with Morsi supporters

CAIRO — With supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi calling for another mass rally Friday, Egypt's military gave a fuller...

Egypt unrest puts Ramadan holiday in different light

CAIRO — They called it Egypt's largest-ever iftar table.

Young activists again feeling squeezed out of Egypt's rebellion

CAIRO — The young activists behind the protests that led to last week's military overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi fear they once...

Egypt names interim prime minister, sets timetable for elections

CAIRO — Seeking to reassure the outside world after a turbulent week of street protests, Egypt's military-backed interim leaders on...

Egypt military's power play welcomed by residents of Suez

SUEZ, Egypt — Military lookouts keep watch over freighters in the blurry distance and checkpoints choke the streets leading into...

Israel in middle of legal tussle between U.S. and China

JERUSALEM – A new diplomatic spat is emerging between the United States and Israel, and it has nothing to do with Iran or Palestinians...

Lebanon car bomb renews fears of spillover violence from Syria

BEIRUT — A car bomb that injured dozens Tuesday in the urban heartland of the Hezbollah movement renewed fears that the sectarian-...

In Egypt, Islamists call for uprising after military opens fire

CAIRO — With its people more polarized than ever and the military once again struggling to impose calm, Egypt's downward spiral...

In Egypt, student is slain trying to help others

CAIRO — Anas Mahfous heard the first shot and ran — toward the gunfire, not away.

Egypt teen's grisly death in Alexandria stirs outcry

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — As Muslim Brotherhood supporters rained stones and birdshot on demonstrators huddled at the opposite end of a busy...

Egyptian army clashes with Morsi supporters

CAIRO — A night of largely peaceful protests ended early Monday in a bloody clash between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and Egyptian...

Egypt wavers on appointing ElBaradei prime minister

CAIRO — Reflecting tension on the streets and sharp differences among Egypt's new authorities, the military-installed government...

In a divided Egypt, fights break out even in hospital hallways

CAIRO — Each family had come to comfort its loved ones, bloodied in street fighting the night before, but the emotional scars ripped...

Iran's president-elect signals he's on young people's side

TEHRAN — Saman, 26, is enjoying what he calls the "break," the two-month transition before the president-elect assumes power, a period...

Egypt's ultraconservative Islamists see an opening in Morsi's ouster

CAIRO — When he took the stage at a campaign stop last year, Nader Bakar moved with a polished grace that defied the brimstone...

Violence erupts in Egypt as Morsi backers rally; at least 30 dead

CAIRO — Tens of thousands of supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist president rallied across Cairo on Friday, hurling rocks and...

Morsi's ouster fuels debate on U.S. policy on the Mideast

WASHINGTON — The military overthrow of the democratically elected government in Egypt, for decades America's most important Arab ally,...

Anti-Americanism flares in Egypt as protests rage over Morsi's ouster

CAIRO — As rival camps of Egyptians protest for and against the toppling of President Mohamed Morsi, there is a rare point of...

Egypt military cracks down on Muslim Brotherhood

CAIRO — Prosecutors arrested officials of the Muslim Brotherhood in a nationwide crackdown to weaken the world's most influential...

After Mohamed Morsi, future of Egypt's Rebel movement is uncertain

CAIRO — Just a few weeks ago they were dismissed as "those kids from Rebel." But after mobilizing mass demonstrations that toppled...

Slaying of Syrian rebel commander exposes opposition tension

BEIRUT — The shooting death this week of a rebel commander in northern Syria — apparently at the hands of an Al Qaeda-linked...

Egyptian army ousts President Mohamed Morsi

CAIRO — The army pushed Egypt's first democratically elected president from power after days of massive street protests, acting...

Egypt coup against Morsi is rooted in a decades-long struggle

CAIRO — The passions fueling Egypt's political turbulence arose directly from the "Arab Spring" of 2011, but they have deeper roots in...

Obama avoids calling Egypt leader's ouster a coup

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Wednesday that he was deeply concerned about the military overthrow of Egypt's first elected...

War-torn Syria moves to shore up currency

BEIRUT — War-battered Syria moved Thursday to protect its battered currency, proposing new laws to criminalize dealings in other...

Egypt president tells military to stay out of crisis

CAIRO — Facing an ultimatum from the army to end months of unrest, President Mohamed Morsi demanded that Egypt’s military remain...

Egypt's military gives Morsi 2 days to calm nation

CAIRO — In a step that could lead to the removal of Egypt's first freely elected president, the military announced Monday that it...

Morsi backers in Egypt call for mass protest Friday

CAIRO -- As Egypt braced for more mass demonstrations Friday, the head of the new interim government said Thursday that he hopes to have a...

U.S. calls for restraint, compromise in Egypt

WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials reached out to Egyptian counterparts Monday, seeking to preserve a careful neutrality in...

John Kerry's Middle East peace effort tests his optimism

WASHINGTON — In December 2003, badly trailing Howard Dean in polls of the Democratic presidential field, Sen. John F. Kerry...

In Egypt, hundreds of thousands protest against President Morsi

CAIRO — Hundreds of thousands of protesters swelled through villages and cities Sunday, denouncing Egypt's Islamist president and...

Two Syria shrine towns: Worlds apart yet united in battle

SEDNAYA, Syria — This prosperous hillside town north of Damascus appears a universe away from another capital suburb, Sayyida Zainab,...

War on MERS: Deadly virus prompts global battle plans

ATLANTA — In a war room of sorts in a neatly appointed government building, U.S. officers dressed in crisp uniforms...

In Egypt, Islamists prepare to counter Morsi foes

CAIRO — Many among the hundreds of Islamists gathered beneath a scorching sun read the Koran, marched with sticks past flags of...

Syria opposition reports assault on rebels in Homs

BEIRUT — Opposition activists on Saturday reported a major government assault on rebel positions in the central city of Homs, a...

Israel holding Palestinian who disappeared in Egypt

JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian man who disappeared while visiting Egypt is being held in an Israeli jail on suspicion of security offenses, an...

Ziad Doueiri's film 'The Attack' encounters opposition

Filmmaker Ziad Doueiri wanted "The Attack" to start a conversation. But that assumed people could see his Middle Eastern terrorism tale.

These are dangerous days for Egypt's Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi

CAIRO — The circle is tightening around Mohamed Morsi, an accidental president turned vilified leader who, with barricades and...

Ramadan holiday adds to Egypt's anxieties

CAIRO -- A muggy sunrise over Cairo on Wednesday ushered in the start of Egypt’s annual Ramadan season, when Muslims begin a monthlong...

Hezbollah's role in Syria fighting threatens to spread holy war

CAIRO — Hezbollah's march into the Syrian civil war on behalf of President Bashar Assad is adding to tension along sectarian fault...

U.S. has secretly provided arms training to Syria rebels since 2012

WASHINGTON — CIA operatives and U.S. special operations troops have been secretly training Syrian rebels with anti-tank and...

Morsi opponents push for a new revolt in Egypt

CAIRO — Amir Mahrous waved petitions at passing cars, hoping the "Rebel" stamped in bold letters would inspire motorists to urge the...